登陆注册
10469400000003

第3章

Scarlet burst into her room, hysterically crying, and slammed the door behind her. She'd run all the way home, from the river, and had not stopped crying since. She didn't understand what was happening to her. That moment kept flashing in her mind when she saw the pulse in Blake's neck, when she felt that feeling, that urge, of wanting to bite him. Of wanting to feed.

What was happening to her? Was she some kind of freak? Why had she felt that way? And why then—of all moments? Just as they were having their first kiss?

Now that she was far away from the scene, it was harder for Scarlet to summon exactly how her body felt at the time—and with each passing moment, it was growing more distant. Her body felt normal now. Had it just been a fleeting moment? Was it just some weird, one-time thing that had overcome her, that would never come back again?

She desperately wanted to believe that. But another part of her, a deeper part, felt that wasn't the case. The feeling had been so strong, it had been something she would never forget. If she had succumbed to it, and stayed there one more second, she felt certain Blake would be dead right now.

Scarlet couldn't help but think back to the other day. Coming home sick. Running out of the house. Forgetting what had happened, where she had been. Waking up in the hospital. Her mom being so worried, so freaked out….

Now, it all came to the forefront of her mind. Her mom had wanted her to see more doctors, to get more tests. And then, to see a priest. Did her mom suspect something? Was that what she was hinting at? Did she think that she was becoming a vampire?

Scarlet's heart was pounding as she sat there, in her room, curled up in her favorite chair. Ruth stuck her head in her lap, and Scarlet leaned down and stroked her. But there were tears in her eyes as she did. She felt shell-shocked, in a daze. She was terrified at the idea that she was sick, that she had some kind of disease—or maybe, something worse. Deep down she thought it was ridiculous, of course, where her mind was going. But she dared to wonder. Her wanting to bite his neck. The feeling she'd had in her two incisor teeth. Her craving to feed. Was it possible?

Was she a vampire?

Did vampires really exist?

She reached over, opened her laptop, and googled it. She had to know.

She pulled up the Wikipedia entry for "vampire" and began to read:

"The notion of vampirism has existed for millennia; cultures such as the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, Ancient Greeks, and Romans had tales of demons and spirits which are considered precursors to modern vampires. However, despite the occurrence of vampire-like creatures in these ancient civilizations, the folklore for the entity we know today as the vampire originates almost exclusively from early 18th-century southeastern Europe, when verbal traditions of many ethnic groups of the region were recorded and published. In most cases, vampires are revenants of evil beings, suicide victims, or witches, but they can also be created by a malevolent spirit possessing a corpse or by being bitten by a vampire."

Scarlet quickly shut her laptop and put it away. It was all too much for her to take.

She shook her head, trying to physically put it out of her mind. Something was definitely wrong with her. But was it that? It terrified her.

Making all of this even worse were her feelings for Blake, and her thinking of what had just happened between them. She couldn't believe she had run away from him like that, especially at that moment. They had been having such an amazing time, a dream date. And now this. Finally, just when their relationship was starting to take off. It was so unfair.

She couldn't even imagine what he was thinking right now. He must be thinking she's some kind of freak, some kind of absolute psycho, for her to just jump up like that, in the middle of a kiss, and take off, sprinting into the woods. He must think she was totally out of her mind. She was sure he'd never want to see her again. He'd probably go back to Vivian.

She desperately wanted to explain herself. But how could she possibly? What could she possibly say? That she had a sudden urge to bite his neck? To feed on him? To drink his blood? That she had to run away to protect him?

Sure, that would really set his mind at ease, she thought.

She wanted to make things right. She wanted to see him again. But she had no idea how to explain. Not only that, but she was also afraid to be near him; she didn't trust herself now. What if the urge overcame her again? And what if, next time, she actually hurt him?

She burst into tears, thinking about it. Was she doomed to never be around boys again?

No. She had to try. She had to at least try to make things right. She had to try to explain herself, in some way. If for no other reason so that he didn't hate her. Even if he never wanted to see her again, she couldn't just leave things like this. And deep down, a part of her still dared to hope that maybe this was just a one-time thing, a freak episode, and that maybe they could get over this and still be together. After all, if they could get over this, they could get over anything.

Scarlet was beginning to feel a little better. She wiped away her tears, grabbed a tissue, blew her nose, and took out her cell. She pulled up his number and began to text him.

Then she stopped. What should she say?

I'm so sorry for what happened today.

She deleted that. It was too generic.

I don't know what came over me today.

She deleted that, too. It didn't sound quite right. She needed the perfect balance, the perfect mixture of apologizing and yet being hopeful that things had not changed forever. She also needed to emphasize what a great time she had up until that point.

She closed her eyes and sighed, thinking hard. Come on, come on, she willed herself.

She began to type.

I had such an amazing time with you today. I'm so sorry it ended the way it did. There was a reason I had to leave like that, but I can't explain it to you. I know it's hard to understand, but I hope you can. I just want you to know that I had an awesome time, and I'm sorry. And I hope we can see each other again.

Scarlet stared at her draft for a long while, then finally reached out, and hit send.

She watched it go through.

Her text wasn't perfect. She already thought of how she could have re-written it in a million ways. And a part of her already regretted sending it. Maybe it sounded too desperate. Maybe it was too cryptic.

Whatever. It was off. At least now he knew that she still liked him, and that she wanted to see him again.

She knew that Blake had his cell on him every second of the day. She knew he'd get it right away. And that he always answered his texts within seconds.

Scarlet trembled as she waited to hear.

She placed her cell on her lap and closed her eyes, breathing slowly, waiting for a vibration. Willing it to vibrate.

Come on, she thought. Text me back.

She sat there, waiting, for what felt like forever. She kept refreshing her phone. After a few minutes, she even powered it off then back on, in case somehow it was jammed. She then watched the clock tick. Two minutes passed.

Then five.

Then ten.

She slammed her phone down on the table, and could feel tears welling up inside again. He clearly wasn't texting her back. How could she blame him? She probably wouldn't text herself back either.

So that was it. It was over.

Then, suddenly, her phone vibrated.

She reached over and snatched it off the table.

But her heart fell to see that it wasn't Blake. It was Maria.

I can't believe u cut class like that. So…how was ur date with Blake?

Scarlet sighed. She had no idea how to respond.

Don't worry. I'm not cutting again. It's over between us.

Really? OMG. Why? Vivian?

No. Not her. It just…

Scarlet stopped, wondering what to say.

…didn't work out.

Tell me.

Scarlet sighed. She really wanted to change the subject.

Nothing to tell. What's up with u?

OMG, I can't stop obsessing about new boy. Sage. Heard fresh details today.

Scarlet was exhausted and really didn't want to continue this texting conversation. She didn't want to hear more gossip and innuendo about the new kid—or about anyone. She just wanted to disappear from the world.

But Maria was her best friend, so she had to humor her:

Like what?

He has a sister, and a cousin. They don't go to our school though. He's a senior. He transferred from a private school. I hear he's rich. Like super-rich.

Scarlet didn't care. She just wanted to end this.

Luckily, before she could type, she got another text—this one from Jasmin.

OMG, what's happening to your Facebook wall?

Scarlet read it in surprise.

What do u mean?

Before she could respond, she grabbed her laptop, opened it, and pulled up her wall.

Her heart plummeted. Vivian had posted on it:

Nice try stealing Blake. It didn't work. After he dumped you, he came back to us. I knew he'd dump you. Just surprised it happened so soon.

Scarlet breathed sharply, completely taken aback. She saw various friends of hers comment on the post, and saw that it had spread to many people's walls. She also saw that Vivian had posted it to Twitter, and that it had been re-tweeted by all of Vivian's friends.

Scarlet was aghast. She had never felt more embarrassed. She deleted the comment from her wall, blocked Vivian, then went to her settings and changed them so that only her friends could post. But it was barely a drop in the bucket—clearly, the damage had already been done. Now the whole school thought that she was stealing other people's boyfriends. And that she was dumped.

Her face turned red. She was so mad, she wanted to reach out and strangle Vivian. She didn't know what to do.

She slammed down her laptop, and burst out of her room. She tore down the steps, not knowing where to go or what to do. All she knew was that she needed air.

"Come on Ruth," she said.

She grabbed her leash and Ruth jumped excitedly, following her out the door and down the porch steps.

Scarlet ran down the steps, looking at her feet, and it wasn't until she was out on the sidewalk that she looked up, and saw him, standing there.

She stopped cold.

He stood there, staring back at her, as if he was waiting.

It was the new boy.

Sage.

同类推荐
  • Spell of the Island

    Spell of the Island

    When Emma's sister travels to the exotic island of Mauritius in pursuit of a man who's clearly toying with her heart, Emma is determined to rescue her. But when she arrives on the island, she meets the man herself--handsome, arrogant Paul Fanchotte--and is immediately smitten.Paul is gorgeous, sensual, and infuriating--and soon Emma completely understands her sister's dilemma. It's not long before she is caught in a web of desire--and falls desperately in love. But Paul has made a vow never to fall for a woman. Can Emma make him break that vow--or will it be her heart that's broken?
  • Step by Step

    Step by Step

    A disturbingly prophetic account of the events leading up to World War II, this anthology is a collection of Churchill's reporting for the Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard from 1936 to 1939—tracing Hitler's rise to power, the Nazi invasion of the Rhineland, and other events leading up to the declaration of war.In the first few years of Nazi ascendance, many European intellectuals and leaders advocated avoiding war and negotiating with Hitler. Churchill is one of the few who understood the scope of the Nazi threat and advocated armament against Germany early on—and his early prescience serves as a fine prediction of his determined stance against Hitler as a World War II leader and statesman.
  • Notebooks of Don Rigoberto
  • Soft Velvet Night

    Soft Velvet Night

    When shy, self-effacing Shivonne takes a position as companion to a wealthy elderly lady, she never dreams her new job will lead to love. But her employer has other plans. She's desperate to distract her handsome son, Kurt, from the cold, arrogant heiress he's currently pursuing with single-minded attention--and she thinks a lovely, soft-spoken Irish girl is just the temptation she needs to get the job done. But Shivonne would never dream of trying to compete with a beautiful heiress. Until she meets Kurt--and falls desperately in love.
  • Who Killed Palomino Molero?
热门推荐
  • 证治准绳·幼科

    证治准绳·幼科

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 你在高原4:鹿眼

    你在高原4:鹿眼

    《你在高原(共10册)》为“茅盾文学奖获奖作品全集”系列之一。《你在高原(共10册)》是一批五十年代生人的故事,这一代人经历的是一段极为特殊的生命历程。无论是这之前还是这之后,在相当长的一个历史时期内,这些人都将是具有非凡意义的枢纽式人物。整个汴梁的政治、经济和文化等各种景致尽收眼底,气韵宏阔;而就局部细节上,哪怕是一个人物的眉眼表情,又都纤毫毕现。这特点在这部小说中也有鲜明的体现,错综复杂的历史、宏大的故事背景和众多的人物,展现了近百年来,特别是改革开放以来中国某一地域的面貌,而在具体的细节刻画和人物摹写上,又细致入微、生动感人。
  • 快穿男主他是大魔王

    快穿男主他是大魔王

    【专宠1V1,男主一个人】上古妖女云软被神帝派去阻止气运携带者黑化了,画风却是……“小哥哥,我想和你一起携手组建世界未来美好家园。”少年竹马:“………”哪儿来的中二病少女?“你有这么多分身,我能捅你一刀试试真假吗?”总统大美人儿:“………”我也想捅你一刀试试。:)“神君哥哥,明天要一起毁灭世界吗?”神界第一美男子:“………”小灵神:卧槽!等等!为什么他家妖神大人的画风不太对?!!妖神云软妩媚一笑:“这么美的小哥哥,当然要关起来好好宠爱呢~”
  • 经济学会撒谎:为什么经济学家是靠不住的

    经济学会撒谎:为什么经济学家是靠不住的

    本书是一本趣味性经济学读物,旨在通过一些有趣的话题,帮助大家更好地认识经济学、学习经济学、用好经济学。其核心思想仍与经典、传统的经济学思路一致,但看事物的角度则力求新奇,改变大家对经济学的传统认识,解决一些学习经济学、运用经济学时的观念误区,使经济学能够更好地为人所用。????本书装满了各种各样的谎言、也装满了对经济学的深刻解读。本书可作为一本经济学爱好者的入门读物,也可以作为一本草根阶层解决生存问题的红宝书、白领阶层关心社会问题的经济学小说,亦可为经济学研究者提供一个看问颢的另类视角。
  • 城市里的童话

    城市里的童话

    他姓柳,排行老五,北方来的。向别人介绍自己时,他总是先强调后一点,然后才报上自己的大名——柳茂树,不过连他自己都不认同这个名字,因为拗口,他说自己有时都记不准。叫我柳老五好了。他总是这样补充说。既然,他主动这样称呼自己,别人也就顺水推舟,于是都“柳老五”、“柳老五”地叫,后来干脆就成了“老五”。“老五”其实很小,二十岁刚出头,差不多是我们这帮人中年龄最小的一个。但“老五”长相老成,有些像刘欢,所以大家并不觉得“老五”小。但是那几个女孩子可不一定。
  • 中国历代封建王朝政治史

    中国历代封建王朝政治史

    中国历史上政权更迭、王朝更替屡见不鲜。但有的政权能长治久安,而更多的王朝或政权却“稍纵即逝”,刚刚夺到的“江山”就得而复失,十分短暂。通过对这些长短不一的王朝、政权的考察,本书提出了“瓶颈危机”这一值得重视的重要概念。中国历史上每一个王朝政权都要经历这种类似的场面。“这使我们发现一项历史定律,即任何王朝政权,当它建立后四五十年左右,或当它传位到第二第三代时,就到了瓶颈时期。”“在进入瓶颈的狭道时,除非统治阶层有高度的智慧和能力,他们无法避免遭受到足以使他们前功尽弃,也就是足以使他们国破家亡的瓶颈危机。
  • 爱情的围墙

    爱情的围墙

    爱,是最美、最自然的感情。许多人认为爱情只是彼此本能的一种牵引,不需要任何方式上的改进和努力。却不知爱情也需具备一定的技巧和方法。有时,一个关键的技巧,便助你赢得如意爱情。
  • 中学生必知的励志故事(下)

    中学生必知的励志故事(下)

    中学时代是人生成长的关键,在这个阶段,尽早懂得人生道理,是中学生日后取得成功的前提,中学生必知的励志故事,给青少年最深刻的人生启示,它将改变青少年的人生观和世界观,并使青少年终生受益,在花季中成长,在雨季里成熟,懵懂青春总会亮出一些桀骜不驯的姿态。
  • 善待命运

    善待命运

    《善待命运》赞美了人要信赖自我的主张,这样的人相信自己是所有人的代表,因为他感知到了普遍的真理。
  • 惊采绝艳穿越公主:西夜传奇

    惊采绝艳穿越公主:西夜传奇

    【原创作者社团『未央』出品】赶了一回流行莫名穿越到一个完全相异的时空身为公主的她毅然和亲不是为了所爱也不是为了国家只因为她背负的命运新婚之夜的交易让一切都改变了轨道谁都不知道天和大陆的传奇在她穿越的即刻就华丽的拉开了序幕……